


Apprentice

by Queen_Kit



Series: Twinnish: Maul Edition [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, GFY, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-14 23:06:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7194578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Kit/pseuds/Queen_Kit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Train her.</p><p>The words were like a jolt of electricity.  He hadn’t really meant that apprentice comment seriously. To presume to train another while he was still the apprentice was to court death.</p><p>But he had asked for a sign…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“I asked for a sign.  Not for an _apprentice_.” Maul sighed as he looked at the girl, her eyes fluttering shut as her mind and body finally gave up the struggle for consciousness.  All he had wanted was a sign something pointing the way to the weapon that would destroy his master.  Instead the Dark Gods have led him to a force sensitive, who if she had any training at all, it certainly wasn’t of the dark.

 “Someone so strong in the force should have been trained by _force users_.” Maul grumbled as he pulled the girl into his arms.  She should have been near people who could manage and temper that strength rather than it turning into this sort of mess.

He had almost thought the girl was an answer to his problems until he realized that she didn’t have a shred of real control over what she had done.  Hell he wasn’t sure how she had managed to do that much without it blowing up in her face.  Then again the dark was easier to control when you just pointed it at a target.  Restraining it when she needed to wait for the right moment… that was the trick.

He grunted, thrusting himself upright with the girl in his arms.  What the hell was he even doing right now?  His master had sent him to kill the ones who had interfered with his plans.  Certainly Lord Sidious hadn’t mentioned any girl, only the young men, but that didn’t mean his master would excuse the lapse.  No, if his master ever discovered that he had let anyone of the hunters live he would be subject to another one of his master’s many painful bouts of ‘discipline’.

He growled as the force twirled around him, prodding incessantly.  He did not enjoy the sensation of being nagged by an energy field that might not even be sentient.

The girl, the girl, the girl, the girl.

It wasn’t really words, it wasn’t really language it was a feeling.

Maul grit his teeth, “Go away.”

He was just going to leave her on the ship and she could go on and live her life. Probably just go burn herself out somewhere along the way and die. It would leave one less force sensitive being in the world for his master to fret about.

_Train her._

The words were like a jolt of electricity.  He hadn’t really meant that apprentice comment seriously. To presume to train another while he was still the apprentice was to court death.

But he _had_ asked for a sign…

No.

He had asked for a weapon, not a student. He was looking for a method to destroy his master before he tore down the galaxy around them.

**_Train her._ **

No.

No. No. No. It was complete stupidity to even _think_ about it.

It was impossible.

He had to serve his master. How could he train another when he was running at his master’s every whim?

**_TRAIN HER. TRAIN HER. TRAIN HER. TRAIN HER._ **

The words pounded on his brain like endless unrelenting waves, beating down his resistance.  The building pressure of the force nearly brought him to his knees.

Finally he relented.

“ALRIGHT I’LL DO IT!”

Maul could hear the sounds of the brush rustling and startled caws as the local fawna fled the area from the sheer volume, but surprisingly enough the girl in his arms didn’t even shift.

He growled, as silence finally reigned in the force once again. Dark Gods be damned for all of it.

He had asked and they had answered with their usual warped humor. A kriffing _apprentice_.  His secret weapon to destroy his master was a scrawny fourteen year old hunter kid of all things.

They just had to be laughing at him right now as he tried to figure out how the karking hells this was supposed to work out.  He had a few free days here and there when he wasn’t at Sidious’s beck and call.  He would just have to make it work out.

Hopefully the girl could handle going back to the Hunters until he figured out a good place to stash her away where his master would not notice.  If not, he was going to have a worse headache than he had already.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this has significantly changed from the original version, but I think I like this better. There should be one more chapter, but I have to fit it all together with the new sequence of events so it might take a little bit.

He walked down the hall of the ship and settled the girl down onto the empty bunk of the largest cabin.  Judging by the contents – clothing for someone over a foot taller for one – it wasn’t hers, but he really didn’t care.  Maul had some experience with ships of this make, enough to know that the other two cabins would be tiny and cramped.  Generally not a place that you wanted to be if you weren’t certain if the person in the room with you was going to want to kill you.

Certainly she had had her opportunity out there in the forest and hadn’t taken it, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t change her mind.  Sith might be the arch-enemy of only the jedi, but that didn’t mean they were well liked by organizations such as the Genetic Hunters either.  The Genetic Hunters tended to oppose organized groups of devoted Force Users no matter their domain in the force.  It was likely because other organizations could disrupt their own access to force sensitive children.

Not that they even bothered to give their force sensitives any real training if the girl was any example of their methods.  It had quickly become obvious that any training in the force that she had must have come of self study, and self study of the _light_ at that; a shame for a child growing up surrounded by such obvious anger and fear.  It had hindered the growth of her abilities in any direction.  She wasn’t surrounded by the calm needed for light and the anger needed for the dark wasn’t fostered any better.

She posed no threat to him with the force and it _irked_ him.  Someone with her potential should be a threat to him in every way.  Instead the only things he was wary of were her instincts and skills for weaponry.  He had no idea how far developed her abilities in _that_ area were; only that she would have some.  No matter what their specialization might be there was not a Child of the Hunt who did not know how to hold a sword or some other weapon.  For all he knew she might have knives hidden on her person.

_‘I swear I’ll never touch you again.’_

If she had been suffering abuse of _that_ kind she was likely to react poorly to any search of her person. It could well be that it was only her absolute exhaustion that had allowed him to carry her onto her vessel as he had…

_‘All you’re good for is a good fuck.’_

If that boy had meant that statement as more than just a verbal stab; if he had actually done as he said Maul was going to flay someone alive.  (The boy was dead, but he was certain he could find someone else involved given the nature of the organization.) He might be _Sith_ , but he had his own code of ethics.  The kid might be cute, but certainly wasn’t republic legal yet.  Certainly her behavior spelled out that she wouldn’t have consented and those were lines for Maul that simply were not meant to be crossed.

Before his mind could wander farther down that track a soft sound alerted him to the fact that his future apprentice was beginning to wake.  He hardly had time to step back before her eyes shot open and she pushed herself upright, breathing heavily.  There was a wave of panic in the force, almost enough to make Maul feel ill, the feeling edged with fear and horror…

He thought it might be about killing her companion at first, but then came an assault of half formed images.  She was unknowingly projecting her thoughts and fears.  This was _his_ cabin and had she dreamed that storm and the release and been caught unaware..?  Just because it hadn’t happened before didn’t mean it couldn’t-

She scrambled to the farthest corner of the bunk making herself as small a target as possible.  He could almost hear the words as she forced panic down and forced herself to breathe and actually examine her surroundings because she didn’t feel _him_ there.  So maybe..?

“Welcome back to the land of the living.” Maul interrupted her thoughts. “It’s good to see you awake.”

The girl started, having not noticed his presence in the room yet.  He felt her flare of self directed anger for a lack of awareness as her blue-green eyes met his for a moment.  Then her gaze was darting around to fully examine the cabin. His awareness of her thoughts faded as her natural shields re-established themselves, but he didn’t need that sense to know what she was doing.  She was busy sizing up the situation and looking for exits in case it turned violent.

 “Look-” He kept his hands away from his weapons as he took a step towards her, intending to explain what had happened while she was unconscious, but he wasn’t allowed the chance.

“Stay back.” He voice was steady despite the undercurrent of fear, but he could feel the currents of the force starting to swirl around her again as her emotions rose.  Her suspicion of him showed clearly on her face as she prepared to make a break for it.

 _Great_. While he could appreciate her wariness, it was going to make his job here very tricky.

“Easy kid…” He raised his hands, watching as she tracked his movements, looking for any sign that he was about to attack. He made the mistake of leaning forward just a little.

“I said stay _back_.” Her eyes glinted gold as she pushed at him with all her might, probably hoping to take him by surprise and push him off balance.  Maul growled, rocking back on his heels.

“Stop that before you kill yourself.”  It wasn’t even hard to wrench the power away from her, pulling it through his tattoos and grounding it back into the force.  It was more of an annoyance than anything else.

The girl paled and dropped her weapon, but she didn’t faint again at least.

“You’re a Sith.” There was an odd glint in her eyes, as if she had been testing him somehow with her outburst.

“I am.” He made the admission easily, even as he kept a cautious eye on the girl.  She was looking for something.  If she could make that declaration with any certainty she had to have studied documents above her clearance.  He knew their methods, and he knew that they didn’t see fit to warn their apprentices about the Sith until _after_ they had encountered one.  It boded well that she could think for herself and seek such things out, but it also meant he had to tread with caution.

“Why didn’t you leave me to die?”  She was staring at him now, a frown on her face.  “You could have done so easily.”

He wasn’t terrible at reading between the lines.  She wanted to know why he hadn’t killed her when everything she read said that he should have.  He should have _wanted_ to kill her, especially having discovered that she was able to touch the force.  If she wanted the answer to that he was going to make her come out and actually say it herself.

“I was sent,” He met her eyes steadily, “To kill the two Apprentice Hunters who had managed to interfere with my Master’s plans on Bandomeer.  You were not part of my mission.”

Her frown deepened.  It was obvious that she didn’t want to come out and say it.  Perhaps she thought bringing the subject up would be the tipping point.

“Is there any reason that I _should_ have left you to die there.”  He prodded at her, hoping to get her to say it.

Her hands clenched into fists, her lips thin, she was _angry_ at him.  She knew he knew and evidently did not appreciate his dodging the issue.  Still she was too wrapped up in her own caution to voice the cause.

“Are you certain?”

“Even those fools would not have sent a first year apprentice on a top level classified mission.” He replied with a snort, neatly answering her question while still denying what she really wanted to know.

There was a flash of surprise across her face that she ruthlessly surprised as he mentioned her rank.  Evidently she assumed that he would not be aware.  For force sake even if he _were_ blind to that fact there was no hiding the fact that she was still nearly a _child_.  He rolled his eyes.

“Not all sentients are completely uneducated as to the operations of the Genetic Hunter order.” He sighed. “The color of your uniform marks the year of your apprenticeship, and the stripes along the sleeve show that you are quite skilled.  Skilled enough to have been approved for un-monitored, apprentice only missions.  However the mission to Bandomeer?  The clearance for the team snatching Aghalia Kullat from my Master’s grasp would have to be well above your clearance level.”

He shook his head.  “Someone your age would never have been sent to find a bounty hunter of his caliber.  The fact that you’re on this mission…”

Maul frowned as he realized something important that he had missed before.  The girl was far too young for a mission like this.  Her ability in the force was an asset, but not one that should have been enough to counterweight the inexperience caused by her limited years.  That meant that her assignment on this mission was for an ulterior motive, likely related to that disgusting young man.  After all he had survived crossing a Sith.  That would have be worthy of a _reward_.

“That still doesn’t explain why I’m alive.”

Her pale face was answer enough that the track of his thoughts was likely correct.  It was a shame that you could only kill a person once. Then again… if what he believed was truly the case there were enough people out there that he could still kill for it.

“I can use the force.  That should have been reason enough for you to kill me.”

She had finally come out and said it and with just about the worst timing Maul could imagine.  It seemed that knowing he knew what her situation in life had really been had decided something for her.  Despite her fear she put aside her attempts at self preservation to throw the truth at him.  It practically screamed that she would rather die than go back to how she had been living before.

He was going to have to approach this with caution.  He needed to show her that he was willing to teach her, that he _wanted_ to teach her, rather than destroy her.  He wasn’t fighting a battle against a Jedi’s determination to do no harm and self limitation to the light, she hadn’t been raised that way.  He would be fighting a battle for trust when he could guess already that she hadn’t known any figure that had really deserved it.

“Your ability, your _strength_ , is all the reason I have to keep you alive.”

“Am I to be _useful_ to you?”

There was a sudden crackling in the air like electricity as a knife fell into her palm from some hidden place within her sleeve.  Death did not stir the natural protective instinct for this girl, but living certainly did.  It was interesting.  She would face death bravely if it was all she saw coming too her, but if it was _life_.  She would fight to live her life on her own terms now.

Maul grinned savagely.  “In the terms of your people I have no use for you.  I’m not looking for a broodmare or a perfect moldable soldier.  I don’t believe in destruction of enslavement of the individual mind.”

She was watching him carefully, the electric feeling in the air was spiking higher.  There was a thrill running through him as he saw an opportunity and took it.  Here she was looking for the power to live life on her own terms and here he was with the answer to her longing if only she were to reach for it.

“I wish to _teach_ you, to _train_ you in the ways of the force. I offer you the chance to _use_ your real strength.”  He reached out a hand to her, and she did not strike at him.

“You said you have a master of your own.”  The lightning edge had softened, but suspicion overlaid the first traces of hope and interest.  “He would never allow you to teach another.”

Maul shrugged nonchalantly in contrast to the dangerous smile that curled along his lips.  “I seek the destruction of my Master before all else.  Together we may destroy him and build a new face of the dark.”

“You assume that I won’t resent you the same.”  Her eyes were sharp as she snapped the resort.  She had had her share of terrible masters as well.

“I have no intention of being your master.”  He said the line firmly looking straight into her eyes, so she could see the truth.  “We both have had our fill of chains.”

He was surprised when the crackling sense of danger faded from the air and she reached for his hand.  Her fingers brushed his and he could feel just a bare trace of it like a static jolt.

“Then I accept.”

He could feel it when the bond clicked into place between them.  It was a strong and steady thing but strangely hazy, easily missed by anyone who wasn’t looking for it in the first place.  Something he supposed that would be good for keeping it hidden from his Master.

And then his new apprentice promptly fainted from that last bit of exertion.

Sithspit and damnation he didn’t even know her _name_ yet.


	3. Chapter 3

While he waited for his new apprentice to wake, Maul set about making some changes to the ship.  Mostly these changes consisted of ridding the ship of every piece of crap that the two deceased occupants had brought with.  He couldn’t even imagine what the boys had been thinking when they packed because they couldn’t possibly have needed half of the crap he found there.  He’d have more complaints over the situation if it hadn’t been so satisfying to burn the useless crap along with the bodies.

He saved anything that seemed useful; weapons, data-pads, credits, and any other valuable item he found he tucked away in the first of the smaller cabins.  He could determine what should be done with it later.  Perhaps he would establish a bank account for his apprentice outside of any stipend she might have regulated by the Hunter’s.  Emergency cash in case she needed to run from them in a hurry.

Because he wasn’t going to be able to keep her and train her like he should.

His master would be suspicious if he had any sort of long term accomplice sticking around, especially when he discovered her force use.  If they were associated publicly he wasn’t going to be able to hide that.  That would mean his master stepping in to take charge of the situation and punish Maul, most likely by _killing_ the offending accomplice.

So he had to find a place to keep her secret, somewhere where he could meet her and train her without arousing suspicion. The problem with that being, the only place he knew of that would qualify wasn’t on his way ‘home’ from this mission.  If he made a stop at Kamino to check on his master’s pet project now it was going to raise a lot of questions.  Questions which would lead to Maul’s little plot being discovered and his apprentice either being killed or used as his replacement when Sidius killed _him_.

Maul groaned as he made his way back to the door of the largest cabin.  All of that didn’t even broach the topic of how the girl might react when told that she was going to have to go back.  It was obvious that she wasn’t being treated well and she would probably be happier staying far away from there… but staying happy wasn’t the same as staying alive-

He stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway when he noticed the girl was standing there in front of him.

“What are you doing out of bed?”

The girl had the audacity to roll her eyes at him.  He was surprised, but glad, hat she was comfortable enough to display an attitude towards him.  Considering their last conversation he had expected her to continue to act wary around him much longer.

“I wanted to get some of my things.”  She replied gesturing towards a door just a little farther down the hall. “I’m not injured and I’ve been wearing this thing for three days.”  She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Oh right.  He’d rather forgotten that fact.  Then again black tunics were rather forgiving as for not showing dirt and blood.  Then he noticed that she was giving him a once over.  The scrutiny in that blue-green gaze was surprisingly unsettling coming as it was from someone who was barely a teenager and looked even less.

“You could probably use with a visit to the fresher and a change yourself.”

Maul grunted. He couldn’t quite bring himself to admit that he agreed with her now that he was thinking about it.  Not to mention that none of his things were _here_ \- an oversight he should have rectified while she was unconscious.  He was really going to have to buckle down and focus if he didn’t want to wind up messing this all up.

He was probably going to wind up messing it all up anyway.  He didn’t know a damn thing about being a teacher.

He stared down at the tiny-redhead for what feels like an absurdly long time.  He knew he needed to say _something_ because she just kept staring at him and judging, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was.  What he finally settled on wasn’t the right thing, not exactly what he felt he should be saying, but it was enough to break the stalemate.

“Just… stay on the ship.”  He pointed sternly at her, feeling patently ridiculous.  “No funny business, no trying your powers.  I’ll be back in half an hour-”

Which was when he was reminded that he didn’t know her _name_ and he wasn’t sure how to ask it without coming across as even more awkward.  Luckily, the girl seemed to be perceptive as well as adaptable.

 “Jinn-Kai.”  She held out her hand with just the faintest smile.

“Lord Maul.”  He grunted, but he took her hand and gave it a perfunctory shake.  “I’ll be back in thirty minutes.  Behave.”

With that taken care of, he turned to walk off the ship and get himself a shower.  He would have a talk with her when he returned.

\--

“So…”  Thirty minutes later and he was sitting across from his new apprentice, from _Jinn-Kai_ , and trying to figure out where to begin the conversation that they needed to have.

“I have to go back there don’t I?”  On the positive side she didn’t sound resentful of the notion; on the negative, she sounded resigned.  He could see her shoulders slump as she shrunk into herself a little from her previous rigid and almost confident posture.  She was probably thinking that he was going to send her back and abandon her there, apprentice bond or no.

“Yes.” He agreed, clasping his hands together in front of him on the table as he stared her down.  He wasn’t going to lie to her, but he needed to correct her assumption.  He needed her to learn that he held himself to his word and this was the place to start. “We’ll have to coordinate your extraction at a later date.”

He watched her carefully as he spoke, taking careful note of her reaction.  You could learn a lot about a person that way (probably why she was watching him just as closely).  It meant that he didn’t miss the brief flash of surprise in her eyes or the re-straightening of her spine.

“I don’t have a safe place for you right now.”  He didn’t know how he was going to make this all work out, but he would.  When he did he would shove it in the face of the laughing gods who sent him a child when he asked for a weapon.

“Because of your Master.” Her words were statement, not question; still he nodded in acknowledgement.

“The only place I have that might be safe is too far outside of my mission parameters to travel there safely. “

She nodded back at him, her expression far too neutral to be natural.  He could accept her doubt for now as long as she allows him the opportunity to prove himself.

 “You won’t be going back there right away.”  He added and could see the instant she turned wary, her eyes narrowed just slightly. “I have a few days more before any delay might be noticeable and I’m certain your mission parameters probably have a similar leeway.”

She didn’t say a word in response, but he could feel the tension between them as she waited to see what was coming.  He was certain that she was once again preparing herself to run if needed.  He kept speaking, not hastily, but with enough speed to ensure that he calmed her nerves.

“It is my intent to use this time to begin your training.”  The tightness in her face eased just a little, caution fading and something like excitement rising.  A dangerous smile began to grow on his face and he spared half a thought to hope that it wouldn’t frighten her.

“By the time you return I expect you will be able to defend yourself from anything they try to do to you.  You will have the _power_ to know that you can escape at any time.”

He watched as she relaxed just a little more, saw the longing in her eyes for what he could teach her.

“You will go back, but you will keep your freedom.”

A smile finally broke out on her face; it was as sharp and dangerous as his own. “When do we start?”

That was the moment he finally believed that this ridiculous idea could actually work.


End file.
